Optical devices for fluid sensing and methods therefor
AssigneeMeasurement Specialties, Inc.
InventorsJohn Coates, Robert Qualls
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical spectral sensing device for determining at least one property of a fluid. The device has an elongated porous body, a first end and a second end, a solid-state optical emitter at the first end of the body oriented to emit radiation toward the second end of the body, and a solid-state optical detector at the second end of the body oriented to detect radiation emitted by the optical emitter and to output a signal responsive to absorption of radiation. The device is configured to determine depth of a fluid based on the signal output by the optical detector.
Claims15
An optical spectral sensing device for determining at least one property of a fluid, the device comprising:
- an elongated body having a first and a second end;
- an optical emitter at the first end of the body and oriented to emit radiation toward the second end of the body;
- an optical detector at the second end of the body oriented to detect radiation emitted by the optical emitter, and configured to output a signal representative of the detected radiation;
- and
- an electronics package for providing energy for the optical emitter and for receiving the signal representative of the detected radiation generated by the optical detector,
- wherein the electronics package is configured to, when the first end is submerged in a fluid and the second end is above the fluid, based on the signal generated by the detector, output at least one value indicative of the fluid depth, and
- wherein the device is configured to determine fluid depth responsive to absorption of emitted radiation by the fluid.
A method for determining the depth of a volume of fluid, comprising:
- radiating energy through a volume of fluid via an optical emitter arranged at a first end of a first end of an elongated body and oriented to emit radiation toward a second end of the elongated body;
- receiving the energy radiated by the optical emitter through the volume of fluid at an optical detector arranged at the second end of the elongated body;
- calculating, by an electronics package, a value indicative of the energy absorbed by the fluid via a comparison between the energy radiated by the optical emitter and the energy received by the optical detector, and
- determining, by the electronics package, the depth of the fluid based at least in part on the calculated value indicative of the energy absorbed by the fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.